Choice of Evils
A suburban mother ends up admitting to the detectives that she shot and killed her own teenage son out of fear that the boy would become a menace to society. Plot After the body of a teenage boy is found dead in a warehouse, detectives use DNA to connect the boy to a convicted rapist and serial killer, then to the boy's mother, Allison Ashburn, the convict's ex-wife. While trying to solve Danny's murder, Fontana and Green learn that he recently got his girlfriend Tina pregnant, and his mother had seen him recently when she had given him money despite having claimed she hadn't seen him for months. Allison finally admits that she murdered her son after the police arrest her new husband John, but claims she did it to save the world from her son, whom she was convinced would become a monster just like his biological father. Borgia and McCoy face an uphill battle trying to convict the perfect soccer mom who refuses to accept a good plea deal that's offered. Though McCoy sympathizes with her reasons, especially after discovering that Danny murdered a man during a robbery, he still chooses to continue the trial despite the pleas of Allison's new husband and the fact that the judge is letting the video of the murder in. On the stand, McCoy destroys Allison's defense by pointing out that she knew about her son's problems for ten years which she testifies to. He lays out the real reason for the murder: her husband was going to leave her with their kids if she let Danny back into her life so she killed him to take care of the problem and not lose her new happy life. The jury finds Allison guilty of murder. Borgia later points out to McCoy that while Allison was wrong about the jury acquitting her, she was right about her son. Though McCoy is sympathetic, he points out that she turned down a good deal of ten years in prison and there's nothing more he could have done for her. Borgia also reveals that Danny's girlfriend went to see a doctor with the help of Child Services and found out she's having a boy. Cast Main cast * Dennis Farina as Detective Joe Fontana * Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green * S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren * Sam Waterston as Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy * Annie Parisse as A.D.A. Alexandra Borgia * Fred Dalton Thompson as D.A. Arthur Branch Guest cast * Molly Price as Allison Ashburn * Adam Grupper as John Ashburn * Lauren Hodges as Tina Keith * Jordan Charney as Judge Donald Karan * Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet * Penny Johnson as Ms. Booker * Emilio Del Pozo as Father Salas * Nicholas J. Giangiulio as Detective Jack Nance * Rick Gifford as Sergeant Bluth * Ann Gray as Judge Emily Posner * Sean Haberle as Walter Flint * Dequan Henderson as Robert Murray * Leslie Hendrix as Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers * Tony Ward as Dr. Nathan Devries * Joe White as Assistant M.E. Simon * Denise Lute as Karla Keith * Andy Prosky as Foreman * Joe Capozzi as Transit Officer * Rosemarie Cepeda as Homeless Woman * Jack Cleary as Clerk * Catherine Cox as Barbara * Paul Sado as Homeless Teenager * Beau Van Donkelaar as Shawn * Alex Wipf as Gary References References Quotes Quotes Background information and notes Background information and notes Category:L&O episodes